Changing Horizons in Geography Education - HERODOT Network ...

we wished, of course we have obtained it. Nevertheless, I think that this, in general,has been a mistaken development of the curricula which has led to these results. It isnecessary consequently to return to thinking about the basic concepts of Geographyand on the position of the discipline, and the Humanities in general, in providing forthe needs of the world. Hence I propose a revision that leads us to analyse the relationshipof Geography with other sciences and other disciplines, because only thenwill the geographers be able to offer to society something truly excellent, beyond“degree courses” where geographers can compete in the labour market.If we consider the traditional definition of Geography as the study of the relationshipsbetween human beings and the means with which they live, we would providea perfect account of the wide range of knowledge and complex relationships that arenecessary to make economic, political or social decisions, or we would not have theglobal vision necessary to act suitably on that space. This does not mean that thestudies of Geography must turn into an amalgam of diverse classes coming fromdifferent specialties. It means, simply, that the geographer in training for professionalfutures must recover the capacity for synthesis from different perspectives that traditionallyhas characterized the discipline. Without this we will be resigned to our ownidiosyncracies. The adoption and application of sophisticated and novel techniqueswill dominate rather than maintaining their place at the service of ideology, as understoodin the wide sense as provided in the Dictionary of the Real Academia Espanola,“Conjunto de ideas fundamentales que caracteriza el pensamiento de una persona,colectividad o época, de un movimiento cultural, religioso o político, etc.” 2 .ConclusionFinally, it is worth considering the role of Geography in the education of other specialties.We must also think how to incorporate Geography into the education of otherdisciplines, due to its interdisciplinary characteristics. In some of the newer Spanishuniversities, the Humanities are comprised of the common heritage of all the students.In the same way, it is necessary to think that Geography can play a similar role. It isevident that for a student of Chemistry Geography may not contribute significantly,but there are many studies in which Geography can represent a basic tool. Withoutmaking a thorough analysis, subjects like History, Environmental Sciences, andPrehistory and Archaeology need of Geography as a tool. Geography thus becomesa way to break the disciplinary isolation that has resulted in higher education andmore generally in a more and more technical society as a whole, where it seems thatonly very concrete studies have value. The education of the professional geographeris based in the modern, global and always changing world, but only with the rightsort of training will we obtain optimal results. In order for this to take place, it isnecessary to be open minded about what surrounds to us and what always has beencommon to geography. I would thus like to finish with words of Professor PilarToboso, the person in charge of the Congress that was organized in the UniversidadAutónoma de Madrid on “Humanities and Investigation”:2“Set of fundamental ideas that it characterizes the thought of a person, community or time,of a cultural movement, religious or political, etc.”178